Instant Message
by Rose Stetson
Summary: Samantha Carter receives an instant message from someone she knows...or does she? Set in Season 4 after Divide and Conquer
1. Instant Messages from the Future?

**Instant Message**

_Season 4- after "Divide and Conquer" and the rather nebulous time between Seasons 8 and 9_

Sam walked through her house, a cup of coffee in one hand as she returned to her laptop to finish her book on wormhole physics that she had begun while wearing the armbands. Normally she would have been exhilarated by the intellectual stimulus, but as she sat alone in her house, her thoughts consistently strayed to the events of a few days ago.

She had dreamed of being able to express her feelings for her commanding officer for a long time now, but she hadn't expected a situation to develop when admitting their mutual feelings for one another would a) be better than the alternative, b) cause more pain and sorrow than happiness and joy, or c) be swept under the rug while they continued being good little soldiers. And this situation had included all three!

She had anticipated a quiet, romantic dinner in some classy restaurant- in many daydreams, the regulations had been suspended for the SGC, so neither of them had been forced to retire in the name of love, but most of the time, she retired and stayed on as a civilian scientist. She had anticipated a number of things. A proposal. An engagement ring. A kiss. That would be the catalyst in the reaction that would allow them to unleash all of their withheld passions.

Needless to say, she'd been sorely disappointed. Not that Jack- Colonel O'Neill- hadn't tried to be the knight in shining armor. He had almost died for her- not once, but twice within the last few weeks.

It was the closest thing to romance he had exhibited in the four years that they had worked together. Then again, maybe it wasn't romance. After all, it was in his nature to protect. He would have done it for anyone.

Suddenly, a window popped up on her computer screen. It was Daniel- he was IM-ing her.

**NOTaspacemonkey**: Hey Sam!

**stargateBarbie**: Hi Daniel. Whatcha doin?

**NOTaspacemonkey: **Thinking

**stargateBarbie**: 'Bout what?

**NOTaspacemonkey**: SG-1. And all the changes we've gone through lately.

**stargateBarbie**: What changes?

**NOTaspacemonkey**: Well, I don't know…let's start with the fact that since SG-1 split up a few months ago, it's just not quite the same.

**stargateBarbie**: SG-1 hasn't split up.

**NOTaspacemonkey**: Not officially, I know, but…I don't know, I feel like the old SG-1 is falling apart faster than I can glue it back together, and it all started with your dad dying.

**stargateBarbie**: My dad died? Daniel, what are you smoking?

**NOTaspacemonkey**: Nothing. Why?

**stargateBarbie**: Never mind.

**NOTaspacemonkey**: Of course, then Jack had to go to head the Homeworld Security part of the pentagon and then, to make things worse, he had to ask you to marry him, which totally ruined the team dynamic.

**stargateBarbie**: WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SMOKING?

**NOTaspacemonkey**: What's your problem?

**stargateBarbie**: Colonel O'Neill and I are SO not involved. That's against regulations.

**NOTaspacemonkey**: Sam, I know that when you hit your head, Dr. Lam said that there was a possibility of amnesia, but I didn't think it would be quite so…well, pervasive.

**stargateBarbie**: What?

**NOTaspacemonkey**: Sam, you're a lieutenant colonel in the air force, Jack's a major general, you are getting married because for a few months, you were no longer under his command. You were head of Research and Development- well, technically you're still just on-loan from Area 51, but that's a technicality that you and Jack have used to your advantage. The wedding is tomorrow. That's why I'm thinking tonight. Beats the hell out of getting drunk with Jack.

**stargateBarbie**: Daniel, are you from an alternate reality or something? Because I KNOW that I'm a Major in the Air Force, I haven't hit my head, Jack is a Colonel in the Air Force, and we are most definitely not getting married tomorrow since we both declared our love for each other to Anise- a Tok'ra- two days ago. For the first time.

**NOTaspacemonkey**: Uh-oh, I'm not from an alternate reality. What year is it?

**stargateBarbie**: What?

**NOTaspacemonkey**: It's 2006. What year is it from where you come from?

**stargateBarbie**: CRAP! It's 2000.

**NOTaspacemonkey**: Yup. I was afraid of that.

**stargateBarbie**: You're from THE FUTURE?

**NOTaspacemonkey**: Apparently.

**stargateBarbie**: How the HELL did that happen?

**NOTaspacemonkey**: Don't ask me, you're the one who explains this stuff to me. And Jack.

**stargateBarbie**: Are we really getting married tomorrow?

**NOTaspacemonkey**: Yeah. FINALLY! We were waiting for something to happen about the time that you're in, but you guys held on for another four or five years.

**stargateBarbie**: What? Hold on…you shouldn't be telling me this. I'm sure that the future me has explained the whole "Grandfather" theory to you…

**NOTaspacemonkey**: At least a dozen times.

**stargateBarbie**: What are you trying to do to the future!

**NOTaspacemonkey**: Well, a lot of things, actually. Janet Fraiser has been dead for a year and a half now. That and the fact that SG-1 has changed in ways never before imaginable, well…I just think things could be better. Besides, there must be some higher being involved in this. Instant messaging doesn't just get sent to the past with no help…

**stargateBarbie**: Are you saying that this is a critical point in our history where everything that went wrong happened?

**NOTaspacemonkey**: I would never say that.

**stargateBarbie**: But…

**NOTaspacemonkey**: But I might imply that.

**stargateBarbie**: So, what do I tell J-Colonel O'Neill? That someone from the future told me that I was wrong and that I want everything to come out of "the room?"

**NOTaspacemonkey**: Not my problem. Besides, Area 51 would kill to have you, if things don't end up working for you guys staying at the SGC together…

**stargateBarbie**: I feel like I have sinned.

**NOTaspacemonkey**: Don't worry about it. We do this kind of stuff all of the time…besides, why save the world if you don't get a few favors out of it. Possibly…suspension of frat regs…

**stargateBarbie**: Not a chance.

**NOTaspacemonkey**: Try it, and threaten to quit. They'll do ANYTHING. Oh, and mention a sun that needs blowing up. They'll need you, I PROMISE!

**stargateBarbie**: Whatever. What happened to my dad?

**NOTaspacemonkey**: Selmak died and your dad wouldn't let go of him. He died alongside Selmak instead of allowing Selmak to die to save his life. He also thought that Selmak was the last chance of saving the galaxy.

Suddenly, there was a message that popped onto the screen.

NOTaspacemonkey has signed off 

She cursed under her breath. This was unbelievable. She didn't even know what she was supposed to fix. She looked over their archived conversation again. Maybe not…she knew that she needed to tell Col-Jack that she regretted her hasty decision to leave everything in Isolation Room 1. She closed her eyes. "Oh Lord, give me strength to do what I must." She prayed.

* * *

_Where did I get Stargate Barbie? Any one know? Hee Hee! maybe I'm just a stargate geek...I don't know, but...cyber stars to whomever can tell me the reference to Stargate Barbie..._


	2. Acting on Intelligence

Colonel Jack O'Neill was awoken by the sharp knock on the door. He rolled over in his bed and looked at the clock. 1:53 AM. He groaned and stumbled to the door. He opened it to find Samantha Carter standing on his step wearing pajama pants, a camisole, flip-flops and a zippered sweatshirt. "Did I wake you, sir?" She asked, worriedly.

"Sorta." He replied, sleepily.

"Sorry."

He forced himself to wake up, noticing her solemn look and obvious rush to his house. "Need something?"

She took a deep breath, trying to release the tension in her arms, shoulders, and neck. "Can we talk?"

He gestured for her to enter. She did so. "Thanks."

"Is it serious enough for coffee?" He asked.

She would have laughed at any other time, but she didn't. She simply shrugged. "I'm sorry, I would have waited…"

He held up one finger. "Ah… You needed to talk to me. No apologies necessary. Now, just let me put the coffee on. I'll be there in a minute."

She didn't even wait for him to reach the coffeepot before she launched into her problems, fearing that any more time wasted would result in a loss of nerve. "Jack, I made a stupid mistake."

Her use of his first name rooted him to the spot. He turned slowly. "Jack?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"What's going on, Carter?"

She closed her eyes. How was she supposed to phrase this? How was she supposed to tell him that a future Daniel had IM-ed her? She had the print-out of their conversation in the car. She was willing to use it to prove to him that she wasn't hallucinating. However, she needed to know that he would take their feelings out of the room, not because it was simply the right thing to do, but because he wanted to see a change in their relationship.

"I couldn't sleep." She lied.

"Why?" He asked after a few minutes of them both staring at the other.

"Because after thinking about Martouf and Jolinar and ironically, Dr. Carter, I can't help but realize that in this line of work, there are no guarantees."

He looked at her, his face betraying the confusion he was feeling. "What are you saying?"

"I was scared and I…I tried to sweep my feelings for you under the rug after we took all of that out into the open with the za'tarc screenings."

"Carter, it's okay. If we hadn't done so, we would have had court-martials on our heads."

She looked at him squarely. "Jack, this is Samantha coming to you with a confession of her feelings and inadequacies. Carter, the capable astrophysicist and soldier, was left at home when I decided to come here."

He opened his mouth to respond, but quickly closed it again. She was right; he was using Carter as a defense mechanism. He couldn't love Carter; she was his second-in-command. But as he had found out by talking to the alternate Dr. Samantha Carter, Samantha was simply a woman who longed to be loved.

"Okay, Samantha." He said, motioning her toward the living room. "Let's talk."

They sat, and Sam interlaced her fingers as she stared at them. "I want you to promise that this is between Samantha and Jack. Not Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill." She said. "No fear of court-martials, no chains of command, nothing." She insisted.

"Easier said than done." He replied, dryly.

"And yet, it's possible."

"Okay."

There was a heavy pause that made the air feel like it was filled with fog. "Jack, I love you." She said, finally.

He was quiet for a few moments.

"I know you care for me, but…I can't keep living like this. Afraid that something will happen to you or me before we have the chance to try and find out if 'us' will work." She continued.

"Ca-Samantha, what about your career?"

"Screw my career, Jack." She yelled. "I just said that we're not Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill right now. Just Samantha and Jack. Assume that I could keep working despite our relationship."

He refused to remember that she was his second-in-command and that such rampages would be a courtmartialable offense. "Okay. What changed your mind?" He asked.

She closed her eyes. "I talked to Daniel."

He raised an eyebrow. "Daniel? He wasn't even there…"

"Not our Daniel."

"An alternate reality Daniel?" He asked, wondering where the hell his memos had been going.

"Not exactly. I…I got an instant message from Daniel. In the future."

"Sam, if you want to change our relationship status, that's fine, but…an instant message thingy from a future Daniel…well, that's a little hard to believe."

She stormed out of the house and went to her car. Jack, believing that he had upset her and that she was leaving, followed her. "Sam! I'm sorry. Keep going."

She retrieved the piece of paper and handed it to him. "Read it."

He read it and as the conversation continued, his eyes became as wide as saucers. He looked up. "We get married?"

"In five years." She said, looking at him intently. "After Janet and my dad die."

He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. It was definitely too early/late to be thinking about this.

"Hey, what about this…Grandfather theory thing. Didn't you say we shouldn't try to fix the past? That it would just screw the future up?"

"Jack, I don't know what's going on! All I know is that I have this information. Now, I can do what is "supposed" to happen, or I can fix it. The future Daniel seems to think that this is fate. That I'm supposed to fix it."

"Don't you mean that we're supposed to fix it?" He asked, fully aware of the way the moonlight lit her face.

She looked into his eyes. "Yeah, I guess I do."

He leaned down and kissed her tenderly. "Samantha," He whispered after they broke away from each other, their eyes closed as if to savor this moment. "I love you too."

She cuddled up against him as his arms encircled her protectively. "I know."

"Would you do me the honor of taking Samantha out on a date in the near future? No Carter. No sir."

She looked up at him, smiling tenderly. "I thought you'd never ask."

"I'm scheduled for downtime after my next mission. Want to go then?"

She nodded. "It just so happens that I'm on leave at the same time."

He leaned in and whispered into her ear. "We could go fishing."

She giggled.

"What'd I say about giggling?"

She smiled. "Carter knows not to giggle in the presence of her commanding officer, but I happen to know that you like it when I giggle."

Jack grinned. "Oh, I go more for the brainy blondes."

"So, fishing?" She asked. "Might as well try it."


	3. Happily Ever After?

**(Alternate Timeline- Between Seasons 8 and 9) **

Major General Jack O'Neill sat at his desk, working on his mounds of paperwork. The timer on his watch beeped and he got up and started to walk out to the briefing room. "Walt-"

"Here, sir." Walter said, in the doorway.

"Yes…where's that…"

"Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell, reporting for duty as ordered, sir." He said, stepping aside to allow the slightly amused colonel view to the interior of Jack's office.

"Yes, thank you, Walter."

He gave a curt nod, and began to turn back toward the briefing room. Jack motioned for Mitchell to take a seat and the somewhat anxious colonel did so. Just then, Jack began to walk after Walter, when all of a sudden the little man was there in the doorway again. "On the right hand stack, sir."

Jack looked at Walter, and then at Mitchell. He shrugged, then turned to see the beaming chief master sergeant. "Thank you, Walter."

"You're welcome, sir."

As he turned to leave, Jack made a shooing gesture with his hands as he closed the door. "So…Mitchell. You're here to join the SGC."

"Yes, sir." He said, with obvious pride.

"Requesting a transfer to SG-1 no doubt." He said, dryly.

"Yes, sir."

"Along with everyone on this base…"

"Sir, if I may be so bold, I did help to save your life when Anubis attacked."

Jack looked up from the file that he had gotten from the right-hand side of his desk. "Colonel Mitchell, I am well aware of what your contribution was to Anubis's defeat. However, there are a number of people who have more experience than you do. I'm assigning you to SG-12 for a couple weeks of evaluation. You pass that, and then, maybe I'll consider your request."

"Yes, sir." Mitchell said, obviously disappointed.

"Dismissed."

Sam passed Mitchell as she knocked on Jack's door. He had started working on some more paperwork. She held a folder in her own hands, and wondered how he would react if she placed it in front of him.

She laid it on the desk in front of him. He reached out with one hand and took it. "SG-1?"

She lowered her voice and changed the tambour of it so that it didn't sound like her. "Yes, sir."

He opened the file folder, expecting to find a photo and detailed summary of a new airman's career. "Go ahead. Impress me with all of your…" His sentence trailed off when he found, instead, sonogram printouts. He looked up to find his wife standing there. "Uh…"

She smiled. "Janet decided to have me deliver the results of my latest physical myself."

Jack's mouth dropped open. "Are you kidding?"

She shook her head in amusement. "I tell you that I'm pregnant and that's all you can say? No sparks, no romance? And I tell everyone that I have the best husband of all…"

Jack literally jumped out of his chair and put his hands on her waist as he bent his knees to get down to her eyelevel and looked at her. "We're…I mean…you're?"

"You think you can handle adding a new member or two to the team?" She asked with a smile on her face.

"To our team?" He stopped. "Two?"

She grinned. "Twins do run in my family, Jack, and…Janet's fairly certain that she heard two heartbeats."

Jack was still agog with the new information, but Sam continued. "Now, don't forget…Dad and Mark are coming over for Christmas. I'm going home to get the guest room ready for Dad. Mark and his family said they'll just stay in town."

Jack was still stuck on the news that he and Sam would be having their first children together. "Huh?" He said, shaking his head.

Sam chuckled. "Jack…Dad's coming through the Stargate today if nothing goes wrong. Mark's driving up tomorrow, and Daniel and Teal'c will be here on Thursday. We're celebrating Christmas Eve that night by going to mass with Dad and Mark. Then, on Friday, we're going to do the normal Christmas thing…"

Jack nodded. "Right. Dad coming today. Mark tomorrow. Guys later. Christmas."

She laughed and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I'll see you tonight when you bring Dad. Oh, and I mentioned to Janet that she and Cassie are more than welcome Thursday night." She said, decidedly more bubbly than usual.

"Okay." He said, watching her leave. Boy, he loved her.

* * *

_And just when you thought it was the end...the other shoe falls!_


	4. NOTaspacemonkey's New Intelligence

**(Season 5: Around "Rite of Passage" and Future Season 12)**

Daniel sat at his computer, trying to go over the pictures from the ruins on P3X 978. They were starting to blur together with his tiredness. He moved to shut down the computer and go to bed when a message popped up on his screen. **NapoleonicNeedles** has signed on.

**NapoleonicNeedles:**Hey, Daniel, how's it going?"

**NOTaspacemonkey:**How'd you know I was still up?

**NapoleonicNeedles:**Because you're never asleep before four o' clock in the morning.

**NOTaspacemonkey:**Right.

**NapoleonicNeedles:**Cassie's making me nervous. She seems to be hiding something from me.

**NOTaspacemonkey:**Like what?

**NapoleonicNeedles:**I don't know. That's the problem.

**NOTaspacemonkey:**Well, have you tried asking her what's on her mind?

**NapoleonicNeedles:**You know Cassie…when has that ever worked?

**NOTaspacemonkey:**Have you asked Sam? I mean, I hate to say it, but Cassie might have spilled to Sam, and not to you.

**NapoleonicNeedles:**Sam's got her own problems right now. What with the twins and the new pregnancy.

**NOTaspacemonkey:**TWINS? PREGNANCY? SINCE WHEN?

**NapoleonicNeedles:**Grace and Jacob are three years old, Daniel. They were just over at the house last night!

**NOTaspacemonkey:**Whose house?

**NapoleonicNeedles:**You better come home, I think you're sleep deprived.

**NOTaspacemonkey:**You mean, you and I…

**NapoleonicNeedles:**Daniel, of course you and I…we've been married for a year and a half now. I think Cassie's getting pretty serious with that Richard guy that she's been seeing at school. I have the sinking feeling that there will be some extra sparkage on her left ring finger.

**NOTaspacemonkey:**Cassie is FIFTEEN!

**NapoleonicNeedles:**What? No…she's twenty-two, Daniel.

**NOTaspacemonkey:**Are you joking?

**NapoleonicNeedles:**Daniel, what year is it? Sam said something about this happening to her a number of years ago, and I just want to double-check…

**NOTaspacemonkey:**It's 2002.

**NapoleonicNeedles:**It's 2009 from where I'm from.

**NOTaspacemonkey:**This is…weird.

**NapoleonicNeedles:**I know.

**NOTaspacemonkey:**So…why us?

**NapoleonicNeedles:**Maybe because things didn't happen the way they should have. Apparently, in another of Earth's timelines, Sam and Jack didn't end up together until 2006. The Daniel in that timeline accidentally instant-messaged the Sam from our timeline and told her to get off her butt and tell Jack that she loved him. Now…they're together.

**NOTaspacemonkey:**Not yet for me…

**NapoleonicNeedles:**Oh, that's right. They haven't gotten married yet in your world. It'll be another year before they get married. They are engaged though, aren't they?

**NOTaspacemonkey:**Jack and Sam just told us last night.

**NapoleonicNeedles:**Make it a double wedding.

**NOTaspacemonkey:**What?

**NapoleonicNeedles:**I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer just a few days after you proposed three years ago. I'm in remission now, but we've never had children of our own. It's something that I've…we've always regretted. We could have had children if we'd just admitted our feelings for one another earlier.

**NOTaspacemonkey:**But what about the Grandfather paradox?

**NapoleonicNeedles:**Sam said that when this happened to her, that you said that it had probably happened for some greater purpose than we could see. She took your advice and now, she's happier than she could ever have been.

**NOTaspacemonkey:**But what about your…past self? Would she want to…you know, get involved now?

**NapoleonicNeedles:**One universal fact about all Janets everywhere, Daniel: they love when Daniel gets assertive.

**NapoleonicNeedles **has signed off.

Daniel released the breath trapped in his lungs. It was going to be a long night of thinking, hoping, and planning.


	5. Happily Ever AfterFor Real

**(Alternate Timeline Season 8)**

Janet and Sam sat in the shade watching their respective husbands play with two six month old babies. "You know, it's funny to think that we both owe our lives to yahoo instant messaging." Janet said, watching Daniel interact with the tiny baby.

"Yeah. I know. I never would have thought it was possible, but…sure enough, yahoo saved me from making a big mistake."

Janet laughed, one hand on her protruding stomach. "We sound like we're making a commercial…advertising or something."

Sam laughed. "That'd be a laugh. 'I realized my true potential through Yahoo Instant Messenger'."

"Hey, T!" Jack called, picking up one of the twins as Daniel did the same with the other. "The burgers done?"

"Indeed, O'Neill." He said, before slapping the back of his neck at one of those pesky mosquitoes.

Sam stood up and got the bug spray. "Step away from the burgers!" She instructed. "Put your hands in the air and prepare to be sprayed!"

He did so, and she sprayedhalf the remaining can ofbug repellant onto the Jaffa.

"I think Junior's a favorite." Jack said, stepping onto the deck.

"I no longer carry a symbiote, O'Neill."

Jack shrugged. "Yeah, but…I'm sure there's something in your blood that makes you particularly appetizing."

Sam swatted a mosquito that had landed on her arm. "I think it's the naquadah. I have the same problem."

"Ah, but naquadah is good for…other things." Jack said, suggestively.

She stood, rolling her eyes and handing the can of bug spray to Jack. "Help me out, will ya?"

"Out of what?" He asked, his mind clearly on something other than the barbecue at hand.

Daniel just closed his eyes tightly, shaking his head violently as though something foul had just been poured over the top of him. Janet just laughed, and Teal'c gave his signature expressionless look. "Are you suggesting that Samantha O'Neill and I have a greater tolerance for bedroom activity than the rest of you because of the element found in our blood?"

Sam bit back a laugh as she saw her husband's surprised, and somewhat disturbed look.

"Nice one, T. Almost fooled me for a minute." Jack said, turning beet red. "Almost didn't realize that you were joking…"

"I did not intend for my statement to be humorous, O'Neill."

There was an awkward silence before Daniel looked at the meat burning on the grill. "So…burgers!"

Sam and Janet looked at one another again, chuckling. This was their wild and crazy extended family. And they wouldn't have it any other way, grateful that others had sacrificed to warn them about the lives they had escaped by the simple click of a mouse.


End file.
